Chapter 37 Chapter 37 The Extra Third Party

Qin Qiao is hosting this year's provincial Spring Festival Gala. After nearly half a year of rehearsals, the recording and filming have entered a busy phase this month.

On stage, she wore a light pink, modernized Chinese-style cheongsam, her hair styled in a bun, and answered questions fluently with the other hosts. Among them was a special heavyweight host—the virtual anchor 'Xiao Lan'.

Qin Qiao gracefully turned to the side and nodded slightly towards the virtual anchor's position: "Xiao Lan, as a new friend of our Spring Festival Gala, could you share with everyone what the most anticipated traditional New Year activity in your program is?"

She listened intently for a moment, as if she had indeed received an answer, then turned to the camera with a smile in her eyes: "Listen, our Xiaolan's database knows a lot about the Spring Festival in the North. Making dumplings, boiling dumplings, eating dumplings—that's right, this whole 'dumpling trilogy' is the standard for family reunions on New Year's Eve..."

The other three hosts also interacted and discussed with 'Xiao Lan'. This was the result of multiple rounds of testing, and it went very smoothly today without any bugs.

The recording of the third indoor segment has ended, and the host and staff present are very satisfied with the results.

Before leaving, Qin Qiao looked towards the control room. It was bright and clean, and Chen Cheng's upper half of his face was on the screen, waving at her.

Qin Qiao smiled and nodded.

Hengyu Technology's team came to the rescue. The previous research team from a major company designed 'Xiao Lan' with stiff facial expressions and dialogue that felt too robotic, so the director rejected it. They tried several other companies, but none of them were satisfactory.

Qin Qiao thought of Chen Cheng; their team happened to have a new project in the pipeline, which presented a great opportunity for brand exposure, so she made a recommendation.

The Hengyu team also performed admirably, earning everyone's praise in their very first appearance.

Just five months ago, Chen Cheng's team was struggling to make ends meet and pursue their ideals.

Hengyu is the main developer of AI home robots. Qin Qiao has read their project proposal. This group of young people, who come from the world's top universities, have innovative ideas and solid technical foundations.

However, there are countless projects like this in the industry that are 'only ideas and have not yet taken shape', and it is extremely difficult to attract investment.

In just six months, the millions of yuan in start-up capital seemed to have evaporated, the robotics project had to be shelved, and the team was completely stuck between making a living and pursuing their ideals.

Qin Qiao closed the proposal and offered some advice based on her years of experience in financial news: 'You can start by following the trend and making a lightweight product, but it must be of high quality.'

She cited the example of the currently popular health monitoring devices, which are no bigger than electronic scales, and whose research and development and production costs are controllable, which perfectly matches their technological advantages.

After listening attentively to her analysis, Chen Cheng strongly agreed with the idea of ​​"first ensuring basic needs are met, then pursuing ideals," and immediately began to study the matter.

Qin Qiao used some of her resources to help them find a partner manufacturer. Four months later, Hengyu's health monitoring device successfully achieved sales of over 10,000 units across the entire network and became well-known in the industry.

At noon, Chen Cheng came to pick up Qin Qiao to go out for hot pot.

Three days ago, after receiving his first round of financing, Chen Cheng immediately bought a car worth two or three hundred thousand yuan. As a CEO, he couldn't possibly ride a shared bike every day. Qin Qiao stared at the new energy vehicle, thinking it was a very low-key and pragmatic choice. Looking at the man who opened the car door for her, her smiling face couldn't hide a hint of youthful pride.

The hot pot bubbled and steamed, forming wisps of white mist between them. Through the mist, Chen Cheng stared at Qin Qiao for a few seconds, and only after she swallowed the slice of beef in her mouth did he use the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and place it in her bowl.

He put down the serving chopsticks and said sincerely, "Sister Qiao, I don't know how to express my gratitude... Thank you for unconditionally transferring the shares back to me. It was my oversight that almost caused you a lot of trouble."

Qin Qiao slowly wiped her mouth with a tissue: "Chen Cheng, you're too eager to repay the favor. Luckily, it was Chen Jiashu who pointed out the problems in the due diligence materials. If it were any other investor, they would have rejected it immediately."

She understood that young people value relationships and dislike owing favors. However, she had overlooked the fact that she hadn't explained the Company Law to these young people.

Chen Cheng nodded repeatedly: "Thanks to Chairman Chen, I almost got you into trouble..."

Two years ago, Chen Cheng returned to China full of ambition to start his own business, believing that he could succeed simply by possessing cutting-edge technology. Prestigious universities, patents, venture capital—everything seemed to be within his grasp.

But reality slapped him in the face.

"Chen Cheng—"

The woman had delicate features and a pale, cool complexion. Her arched eyebrows and eyes looked incredibly gentle under the soft yellow light: "I'm not trying to criticize you, but I hope you'll learn from this. Shareholding structure is the foundation of a company, just like..."

Pointing his fingertip directly at the bubbling broth, he said, "It's like a hot pot broth; if the proportions are wrong, even the best ingredients will be ruined. In my years in finance, I've seen many companies collapse because of equity issues. Last year, Wellcome Healthcare in the UK saw its Series D funding round fail after the founder divorced and divided 35% of the shares, resulting in a 40% drop in valuation..."

Afterwards, Qin Qiao picked out a few examples to tell Chen Cheng. Chen Cheng listened attentively, occasionally asking questions, and gradually realized that he still had a lot to learn, especially in the way of business.

After finishing their meal, the two walked downstairs. On the second floor, diagonally opposite the escalator, Qin Qiao saw a row of claw machines.

A father and son were standing in front of one of the claw machines. The young father controlled the lever and successfully grabbed a small bear. The bear wobbled towards the hole, and the next second, it went into the hole precisely. The child cheered and jumped high in the air.

It happened during the summer of her senior year of college. There was a claw machine shop in the best shopping mall in the city.

Chen Jiashu bent down, wrapped her large hands around the grab bar, controlled the grab hook, and pressed the down button. The grab hook caught a doll and carried it towards the hole. She stared intently at the doll, clenched her fists nervously, and unconsciously tightened her molars.

until--

The doll fell into the hole with a "clatter".

"Ah—ah!!"

All her tension instantly dissipated into a scream as she gripped Chen Jiashu's arms and shook them frantically, yelling, "I caught the doll!"

Chen Jiashu bent down, took out the doll, and handed it to her, his deep, bright eyes filled with tenderness: "Want to try again?"

"You teach me!"

The two switched positions. Qin Qiao lowered her eyes, locked onto a pink kitten, cupped the grip tip in her palm, and felt a surge of excitement.

"After moving directly above the target, quickly move the joystick left and right to make the claw swing..." Chen Jiashu's gentle voice came from above, and at the end he added: "I also learned it from the tutorial above, so it may not be accurate."

Qin Qiao recalled the sequence in her mind, controlled the grab handle, positioned it directly above the target, shook the handle vigorously, and finally pressed the down button. The handle fell and grabbed half of the kitten's head, wobbling as it walked towards the hole.

It felt as if a hand was choking her, making it hard for her to breathe, and she didn't even dare to blink.

It fell into the hole.

"It's done!!"

Qin Qiao almost jumped up, grabbed the pink kitten's paw, and waved it at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng's pupils dilated slightly, and his lips moved slightly.

He had seen her composure and professionalism when she hosted the news; he had seen the compassionate look on her face when she talked about impoverished children; and just now, when she was "avoiding harm and seeking benefit" for him at the hot pot restaurant, she had logically dismantled the equity trap.

He really didn't expect that the strong woman who was always so proper and gentle in his eyes could get so excited about playing claw machines, just like a high school student, exuding the most genuine and down-to-earth vibe.

After using up 100 game coins, Qin Qiao caught four plush toys. Holding them in her arms, she comforted herself, "Sure enough, the more you invest, the more your brain will rationalize the effort when you succeed, thinking it was finally worth it."

After listening to Qin Qiao's explanation of economics, Chen Cheng lifted the three dolls he was holding in his hand. Qin Qiao's eyes widened: "When did you grab them?"

"When you were playing the claw machine," Chen Cheng smiled slightly, his tone light, "it cost twenty coins."

"You—" She suddenly felt the doll in her hand become heavier, "You're using the least amount of resources to plunder the most resources, Chen, that's unfair competition!"

Chen Cheng generously handed it over, saying, "It's yours."

The item wasn't worth much, and refusing it would only make one lose face. Qin Qiao grinned and reached out to take it, saying, "Thank you."

As they were passing the bear, a small bear fell to the ground with a thud. She instinctively bent down, bumping her forehead against Chen Cheng's, who was also looking down, causing both of them to freeze in shock.

"Ouch—" Qin Qiao dropped the doll in her hand. She covered her forehead, her shoulders shaking, laughing so hard she couldn't speak.

In the distance, the cold light of the phone screen between Chen Jiashu's fingers hadn't yet faded. He looked in the direction of that crisp laughter. The mall lights were bright white, blurring his vision, but that laughter felt like an ice needle, suddenly piercing his eyes.

"Mother!"

A clear, childlike voice, like the tinkling of wind chimes under the eaves, came from afar and clearly reached Qin Qiao's ears.

The beautiful voice made the smile on her face freeze instantly, and then vanish without a trace.

The sound of footsteps rushed towards her. Just as she straightened up, her legs were struck hard, and those small hands were already tightly gripping her.

Qin Qiao, feeling guilty, nodded slightly to the left.

My heart skipped a beat.

Chen Jiashu stood quietly ten meters away, his white cane touching the ground, with a sports brand store behind him. The spotlight overhead shone on his shoulders, casting a shimmering light on his white shirt and blurring his sharply defined face.

He didn't see it.

The moment this realization dawned on him, another thought poured over him like ice water—his eyesight was poor, but his hearing was excellent.

He must have heard her laughing so loudly.

How much did he hear? And when did he start listening?

Qin Qiao felt a sudden, inexplicable panic, a strange sense of guilt gripping her. Even though she was acting completely innocently, she inexplicably felt as if she had been caught red-handed, and even her breathing became labored.

With a loosening of her grip, all the dolls in her arms fell to her feet.

Chen Cheng, still bent over, quickly went to pick it up. Just then, a crisp "thud" of a white cane hitting the ground rang out. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw Chen Jiashu waving his white cane, walking straight toward them.

The mall was bustling with people and noise, yet a small patch of air seemed frozen.

The young man leaning against the railing held up his milk tea but forgot to drink it, and passersby kept turning around to look at him.

Eighty percent of them gathered with Chen Jiashu. A blind man, unable to see, yet he exuded a calm and composed aura that could not be ignored.

Chen Cheng straightened up under the silent gaze. Perhaps it was his state of mind, but he felt that the gazes sweeping over him carried a piercing contempt—as if silently condemning him, the superfluous third party.

"Dad!" Zhao Ye hurriedly ran out again, grabbed Chen Jiashu's finger, and pulled him to Qin Qiao's side.

Chen Cheng immediately greeted him: "Chairman Chen."

“You were laughing so happily,” Chen Jiashu said naturally, with a smile on his face. “I heard it all over there.”

Qin Qiao sensed the sarcasm in those dark eyes, which seemed calm but carried a condescending scrutiny.

After that message went unanswered a week ago, they haven't been in contact since. Chen Jiashu is a kind-hearted person, but that doesn't mean he's without temper. She admitted that she had misunderstood him that day and that he was angry with her.

Qin Qiao looked away, ignoring his words. The man shifted slightly, which Qin Qiao noticed out of the corner of her eye.

Suddenly, a heavy, cold pressure descended. Qin Qiao looked up, and shadows enveloped her like dark clouds. Then, Chen Jiashu grabbed her arm. Before she could struggle, his large hand moved smoothly to the back of her hand, enveloping it. His palm was hot and strong.

"I have something to tell you." Chen Jiashu's tone and eyes were both calm.

An illusion.

Her other hand was also grabbed by Zhao Ye, and she was carried by the father and son to the entrance of an ice cream shop.

Zhaoye shook her hand, "Mom, I want to eat ice cream."

Ice cream is not allowed in the dead of winter, but Qin Qiao resolutely refused: "No."

Chen Jiashu chimed in from the side, "Why not in winter? He's hot inside and needs to cool down." His gently curved eyebrows reflected the light, and even his voice was gentle to the bone: "Besides, when you're happy, shouldn't you eat something sweet? He was laughing so happily just now, so it's perfect to reward him with something."